The
Call to Justice

Scripture teaches that God is a
God of justice; he “loves
justice.”
The kingdom of God, established
through Christ, is a kingdom of
love, faithfulness, justice and
righteousness. He will
eventually bring justice to the
nations and particularly to the
poor. Through his obedient
children his desire is to
defend, sustain and secure
justice for the fatherless,
widows, foreigner, oppressed,
weak, needy and poor.

God “will reign on David's
throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and for ever
…. with righteousness he will
judge the needy, with justice he
will give decisions for the poor
of the earth.” He is “one who
in judging seeks justice and
speeds the cause of
righteousness … he will fill
Zion with justice and
righteousness.” The Messianic
Servant “will not falter or be
discouraged till he establishes
justice on earth.”[2]

Before the people entered the
Promised Land the Levites were
commanded to pronounce publicly:
"Cursed is the man who moves his
neighbour's boundary stone
[steals land]". “Cursed is the
man who withholds justice from
the foreigner, the fatherless or
the widow.”[3]

The Bible declares: “The LORD
detests differing weights, and
dishonest scales do not please
him … Woe to those who make
unjust laws, to those who issue
oppressive decrees, to deprive
the poor of their rights and
withhold justice from the
oppressed of my people, making
widows their prey and robbing
the fatherless … Hear this, you
who trample the needy and do
away with the poor of the land,
saying, ‘When will the New Moon
be over that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended that we
may market wheat?’-- skimping
the measure, boosting the price
and cheating with dishonest
scales, buying the poor with
silver and the needy for a pair
of sandals, selling even the
sweepings with the wheat. The
LORD has sworn by the Pride of
Jacob: ‘I will never forget
anything they have done.’”[4]

God commands his people to
defend the rights of the weak,
needy, fatherless, poor and
oppressed; to rescue the
oppressed and administer
justice, including justice
for the foreigner.

God’s law is quite clear: “When
a foreigner lives with you in
your land, do not ill-treat him.
The foreigner living with you
must be treated as one of your
native-born. Love him as
yourself, for you were
foreigners in Egypt.” God asks:
“How long will you defend the
unjust and show partiality to
the wicked? Defend the cause of
the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor
and oppressed. Rescue the weak
and needy; deliver them from the
hand of the wicked … Maintain
justice and do what is right …
Rescue from the hand of his
oppressor the one who has been
robbed. Do no wrong or violence
to the foreigner, the fatherless
or the widow, and do not shed
innocent blood in this place …
what does the LORD require of
you? To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with
your God.”[5]

Under Old Testament law the poor
are to be providedfor: given food, not to
be charged interest or sold food
at a profit. Their debts may be
cancelled.

“If one of your countrymen
becomes poor and is unable to
support himself among you, help
him as you would a foreigner or
a temporary resident, so that he
can continue to live among you.
Do not take interest of any kind
from him, but fear your God, so
that your countryman may
continue to live among you. You
must not lend him money at
interest or sell him food at a
profit. I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out of Egypt to
give you the land of Canaan and
to be your God.”[6]

“Do not take a pair of
millstones-- not even the upper
one-- as security for a debt,
because that would be taking a
man's livelihood as security …
Do not deprive the foreigner or
the fatherless of justice, or
take the cloak of the widow as a
pledge … When you are harvesting
in your field and you overlook a
sheaf, do not go back to get it.
Leave it for the foreigner, the
fatherless and the widow, so
that the LORD your God may bless
you in all the work of your
hands. When you beat the olives
from your trees, do not go over
the branches a second time.
Leave what remains for the
foreigner, the fatherless and
the widow. When you harvest the
grapes in your vineyard, do not
go over the vines again. Leave
what remains for the foreigner,
the fatherless and the widow …
You may require payment from a
foreigner, but you must cancel
any debt your brother owes you.”[7]

God watches over foreigners
(including people from another
tribe, race, social or religious
background) and condemns those
who ill-treat or withhold
justice from them.

All human beings are equal in
God's sight.
We are all created in God’s
image: “God created man in his
own image, in the image of God
he created him; male and female
he created them.”[8]
That unity and equality is
restored in Christ: “There is
neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor
free, male nor female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus.”[9]

God commands us to love
foreigners,
people from another tribe, race,
social or religious background
as ourselves, to treat them as
our native-born and help them
where necessary: “When
foreigners reside among you in
your land, do not mistreat them.
The foreigners residing among
you must be treated as your
native-born. Love them as
yourself, for you were
foreigners in Egypt. I am the
LORD your God.”[10]
The offender is to have the same
humane punishment as a citizen
and is not to be degraded: “If
the guilty man deserves to be
beaten, the judge shall make him
lie down and have him flogged in
his presence with the number of
lashes his crime deserves, but
he must not give him more than
forty lashes. If he is flogged
more than that, your brother
will be degraded in your eyes.”[11]

God has also given human beings
responsibility for creation,
so they are to care for the
environment.[12]

Consequently, the church is
right to be at the forefront of
prophetic proclamation and
action about such issues as
national and world poverty;
racism and tribalism; social
division and violence;
immigration and asylum seekers;
religious, political and
economic oppression; dishonest
and unjust business; unjust laws
and punishments; injustice in
society and the judiciary;
conservation and animal
welfare.

The call to justice in the
Middle East

Both Israelis and Palestinians
should practise justice in their
relationship with their own
people and one another.

The above standards should mark
both Israeli and Palestinian
society. There is corruption in
both, including in government
circles, although it seems to be
more prevalent in Palestinian
society. Palestinian poverty and
deprivation is partly caused by
Palestinian corruption. There
have also been some
well-publicized incidents of
corruption at high levels in
Israeli society.

However, it is very important
that Israelis and Palestinians
should practice justice in their
dealings with one another. They
should care for one another and
treat one another as they would
their own people. This rules out
unjustified and indiscriminate
violence, such as Palestinian
suicide attacks or irresponsible
Israeli attacks which can be
expected to injure or kill
innocent civilians. It also
calls for honesty and
reliability in political and
economic co-operation or
negotiation. Justice also
requires the two people groups
to respect the national concerns
of each other – the Israeli need
of a secure homeland and the
Palestinian yearning for their
own state.

Zionists need to realize that
the same Scriptures which they
believe foretell the final
return of the Jewish people to
the land also strongly call
Israel to justice. By the nature
of the situation, Israel has
much greater power and influence
than the Palestinians.
Consequently it has greater
moral responsibility.

Because of its continuing
control over the Palestinians,
the Jewish (Hebrew) Scriptures,
referred to above, show that God
requires Israel to:

·
Regard Palestinians (and Israeli
Arabs) as loved by God as much
as they themselves are.

·
Care for the welfare of the
Palestinian people

·
Treat Palestinians as they would
fellow-Israelis, as far as
practically possible.

·
Use only justified violence
against legitimate Palestinian
targets.

·
Act justly in all financial
matters to do with the
Palestinians.

·
Respect Palestinian land rights.

·
Protect the livelihood of
Palestinians.

·
Be generous towards the poor and
needy.

·
Uphold justice for Palestinians
in the court system.

·
Provide compensation where
Palestinians have been treated
unjustly.

·
Avoid humiliating Palestinians.

·
Avoid maltreating and
humiliating Palestinian
prisoners.

If Zionists (Jewish and
Christian) love Israel they
should, where possible, urge
Israel to fulfil these biblical
obligations. If God has brought
the Jewish people back to the
land it is partly so that they
can practice justice and
righteousness.